Zoomo poaches Uber, Lyft execs in global push

The Sydney start-up backed by Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar has tripled its workforce in the past 12 months.

Zoomo co-founders Mina Nada & Michael Johnson. Source: Supplied.

Australian electric delivery vehicle start-up Zoomo has poached key executives from Lyft and Uber as it expands into seven new markets, capitalising on demand from the likes of Deliveroo and Uber Eats who are looking to improve rider safety while trimming costs.

Zoomo has grown from two employees to now over 400, tripling its workforce in the past 12 months. The start-up, backed financially by Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar, provides e-bike delivery fleets to most of the major players in the food and grocery delivery segment, and has nabbed top Silicon Valley executives as it ramps up global growth.

Michael Johnson, co-founder of Zoomo bikes. Pictures: John Feder/The Australian.

The new senior appointments come off the back of Zoomo’s recent Series B $US80m funding round at an undisclosed valuation. Former Lyft vice president Jules Flynn has returned to Australia to join Zoomo as Chief Operations Officer, overseeing expanding operations in seven countries, while Alan Wells, a former Uber executive, has joined Zoomo from General Motors’ autonomous vehicles division Cruise. Ex-Bain consultant Michelle Crocker has also joined Zoomo as its first VP of People and Culture.

Co-founder and chief revenue officer Michael Johnson said courier services like Deliveroo and Uber Eats were still riding the Covid wave, but are more focused than ever now on cutting down on driver incidents, particularly after a spate of crashes in the past year.

The company offers its e-bikes as part of a weekly subscription to gig workers, including servicing and support, and also offers fleet management software to enterprise customers.

“These are companies that are starting to look more at rider safety and being a good citizen in general, so they are interested in the smarts we have on our bike, which differentiates us from any of our competitors. We have things like crash detection, and notifications when the way the bike is behaving doesn’t look right. Just in general we have more information about the bike that allows companies like Uber to better manage their fleet,” he said.

“Those are the types of conversations we’re having now. This space is still exploding and where we want to get to is we want to be synonymous with delivery in any major city around the world.”

New Zoomo hire Alan Wells is the company’s first San Francisco based executive, and will be responsible for managing its global product strategy including its hardware and software functions.

“Light electric vehicles are already transforming the way we move people and goods around cities, and yet we’re only just scratching the surface of what is possible with a fully integrated hardware and software solution purpose-built for urban logistics,” he said.

“Zoomo is the clear leader in this market, and I’m excited to bring my experience working on software, vehicles, and advanced technologies to help build the future of sustainable transportation for cities.”